My True Valentine
by Animaman
Summary: One-Shot. Naruto finally gets tired of Sakura giving Sasuke all the credit for every little detail, so he decides to give her what she's always been wishing for. As for the results, read for yourself.


**MY TRUE VALENTINE**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

One shot fic.

_Sometime after the time skip_

Valentine's Day in Konoha was every girl's favorite holiday, kunoichi included since it gives them a break from being a ninja for awhile.

At the Yamanaka Flower Shop, Ino was a little bored out of her skull because the only customers they had were a bunch of shinobis and men who were in a panic because they either just remembered what day it was, or they were in a little trouble with their significant other.

She looked up just as the bell over the shop's entrance just as her friend, Sakura Haruno, carrying a bouquet of blood red rose, with a touch of fresh sakura flowers, in her left hand and the card in her right, with a confused look on her face, "Something bother you, forehead?" She asked the sound of concern in her voice.

Sakura went up to the desk, "I just found these outside my front door, and . . . well . . ." She said, while trying to get the right words out.

"What's wrong, don't you like them?" Ino asked trying to sound offended although she enjoys putting her pink hair friend on the spot.

"No, No, I love them," Sakura answered, trying to avoid upsetting her blonde friend, "It's this note that's bothering me." She said, before handing it to her friend.

Ino look down to read:

_To my darling Sakura- please accept these flowers just as I have accepted your heart. Be my love forever- Sasuke_

"So you finally got something from the stiff, although I thought he lost interest in all of us." Ino said, although the handwriting seems bother different, yet familiar, until she noticed some words on the back of the card, which said:

_Now you finally have something to give the bastard credit for. Hope you're happy.-Naruto_

"I don't get it, Ino, why would Naruto do something like this?" Sakura asked, surprised at her teammates action.

Ino just gave a look that was _saying 'and you're supposed to be the smartest kunoichi in your class.'_ "So that would explain why Naruto was looking slightly depressed when he showed up this morning." She said, catching Sakura off guard.

"What do you mean? He's bought flowers from here before?" Sakura asked.

"Oh yeah, he comes by every now and then, especially valentines. Why, who else would you . . ." Ino was about to ask, until her eyes went wide from realization, "Oh don't tell me that you would actually stoop that low?"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, acting like don't know well what, while forgetting who she's talking to.

Ino gave her a glare that could scare Hiashi Hyuga straight, "You know damn well what I mean, and I'm pretty sure that this card proves what. You've been giving Sasuke the credit for every good thing Naruto has done for you, instead of giving him a single thank you. And I thought I was thick head when it came to Sasuke."

Sakura was starting to feel angry, "Oh you're one to talk piggy. You would have done the exact same thing. We were both part of the same fan club." She said.

Ino looked down, "That might have been true if I spent as much time with Sasuke as you have, but I would have at least have the decency to say thank you to him instead of breaking his heart in worse ways than the way we did while we were still at the academy." She said, she than gave a little chuckle, "Now that I think about it, no wonder why my teammates wouldn't buy me gifts when we started out, it would have been, in Shikamaru's own words, too troublesome to begin with." She then looked back up to her friend, "By the way, what did you do with the notes that came with the other bouquet."

A guilty look started to form on her face, "I threw them away. I was too focused on making my own dreams with Sasuke come true, I didn't want to admit that my first thoughts of Naruto might have been wrong." Sakura said, finally being honest with her feelings.

Ino started to feel guilty after hearing that, "Actually Sakura, those thoughts of Naruto started out before we even heard of Sasuke, remember?" When she received another confused look, she decided to continue, "I guess you wouldn't because the whole 'I Love Sasuke' fiasco screwed up our minds, yours most all, but I'm pretty sure you remember what it was like before we first met, don't you?" Although that last part was more of a statement instead of a question.

"How can I forget," Sakura answered, "I was always picked on due to the size of my forehead that I would try everything I can to hide it from everyone."

"Do you remember your little savior, the person who fought off the bullies and tried hard to be your friend?"

"Yeah, and every time he came to say hi to me, for some reason, I started to have this feeling like we were meant to be, almost like what I felt when I was with Sasuke."

Oh please, girl," Ino said, definitely throwing her pink haired friend's mind into another one of her loops, "We were only kidding ourselves thinking that we actually felt anything for that traitor."

Sakura knew she was right, "And the only reason that we did was because we didn't want to be treated like an outsider like . . . him . . ." She said, when it dawned on her on the identity of her little savior was and whom to compare him to, "Oh no, I really am a horrible person!" She yelled out, just as she started to let the tears fly, "And all it took was one little card to prove it."

Ino was right by her side, helping her friend get through this little ordeal, "Hey, calm down, forehead, the plants have already been watered." She said, trying to lighten the mood, "Besides, you're not horrible, you were just as misguided as I was and I'm surprised it took Naruto this long to finally let you have it." She then placed her hand under her friend's chin, and pushing it so that her eyes were looking straight at her, "And you still have plenty of time to make this a valentines day worth enjoying."

Sakura quickly wiped her eyes dry before saying, "You're right Ino, and I better hurry up and get going before Naruto decides to visit Ichiraku." Before heading out of the door, "I owe you one Ino." She yelled out before the door closed behind her.

Ino just smiled, "No Sakura, we owe more to Naruto and then some."

* * *

Naruto was up in one of the trees that are next to the bridge where Team 7 would meet to wait for their always late sensei to arrive, taking a nice nap. Normally he would be trying to gain Sakura's attention, but this year he decided to just drop off his usual gift and just take a few days to clear his head.

The only thing that cheered him up was when after he caught Jiraiya doing his little 'research' near the hot springs, that he decided to get even for all of the times he took his money for sake and women. He just walked up quietly; knowing full well how focused the self-proclaimed 'super pervert' would be, he performed the Thousand Years of Pain technique on him, sending him flying into the hot springs, and with luck being on his side, Tsunade just so happen to be in the hot spring, so the last thing he saw was his teacher being sent flying in the direction towards the south gate of the village.

"Naruto, can I have a word with you?" Asked a familiar voice. He looked down to see Sakura with a sad look on face, a look that he has seen far too often in his case.

After he landed on the ground, he looked up to notice that his teammate also had what appeared to be a guilty look on her face, "Something wrong, Sakura?" He asked, while keeping on his guard since the girl tends to be dangerous whenever she loses control of her emotions.

Sakura couldn't hold it in any longer, and tackled Naruto into a hug, right into the tree he was napping in, "I'm so sorry for the way I've been treating you. I never realized how badly I've been hurting you every time I praised Sasuke for things that you worked so hard to accomplish." She said, while soaking his shirt with her tears, "All I've ever wanted was to fall in love with the right man and here you were right before my very eyes the entire time."

To say that Naruto was surprise would be like Shikamaru actually doing something, just one of those out of the ordinary deals. He quickly rubbed her back with one hand, while stroking her hair with the other, "its okay, Sakura, I'll always be here for you. Just let it all out." He gently whispered into her ear, trying to calm her down, while deciding to take a gamble, "I will always love you."

As soon as she heard those exact words, Sakura could feel her heart beating hard, and she could feel her face blushing brighter than her own hair, "I love you too, Naruto." She said, finally acknowledging the fact that this feels right for the first time in her life. She felt her chin being lifted upwards, until she was able to see a pair of sky blue eyes, before she felt a pair of lips pressing against hers.

Naruto was more than glad when he felt the girl of his dreams returning the kiss, while her hand went up to his neck. After a few minutes, they both separated due to a lack of oxygen, but when they recovered, they both had a smile on their faces, as if they were thinking the same thought: _'Together forever.'_

Just as they separated, Naruto grab Sakura's hand and simply said, "Come on, I'll treat you out to dinner, your choice."

Well, here's my Valentines Day story, even though it's about a day late. If it doesn't reach up to your standards when it comes to love story, sorry about that, I'm still a rookie when it comes to romance stories. Read and Review, and Happy Valentine's Day anyway.


End file.
